Citing five straight seasons of underachieving in the playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins CEO/president David Morehouse announced today that the club has fired general manager Ray Shero.

Despite an earlier report to the contrary, head coach Dan Bylsma has not been fired. The new GM will determine Bylsma’s fate, as well as the rest of the coaching staff.

In the meantime, assistant GM Jason Botterill will take over as interim GM. Botterill is also a candidate to become the new GM, who will be charged with evaluating the entire hockey operations department.

Morehouse said “there wasn’t one specific thing” that led to the decision to relieve Shero.

“We just have high expectations and want to get better,” he said.

The announcement comes three days after the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the New York Rangers. Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the Penguins, featuring superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, have failed to get back to the final. When they did reach the Eastern Conference Final last year, they were swept by the Boston Bruins, getting outscored 12-2 over the four games. That defeat came one year after Pittsburgh was eliminated in the first round by Philadelphia.

“We feel it is time to move our franchise in a new direction,” said co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle in a release. “We share the disappointment of our fans that we have not had success in the playoffs over the past five seasons. We believe that new leadership in the general manager’s office will bring a new approach and new energy, and help us return to championship form.”